Was Newt Scamander at Hogwarts During the Harry Potter Movies?

TheHarry Potterwizarding world is alive and well. The final movie in the actualHarry Potterfranchise,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, came out back in 2011, but with the release ofFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,J.K. Rowlinghas brought fans back to that world. The story centers on famed Magizoologist Newt Scamander, but as fans have recently pointed out, he was actually featured in aHarry Pottermovie quite some time ago. Kind of.

Warner Bros.has been handling theHarry Pottermovie franchise from the very beginning and they have treated it very well in the eyes of most fans. The character of Newt Scamander has been around since 2001 when the bookFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themwas published; a textbook written by the fictional character Newt Scamander (actually written byJ.K. Rowling) documenting magical creatures. So there was always a chance he could show up in the movies at some point, and he did. At least in name.

Now thatNewt Scamanderis the center of attention, it has been pointed out by many fans online that in a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, he was featured inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. During the scene when Fred and George Weasley first show Harry the Marauder’s Map, Newt Scamander’s name can be seen on it. Since the map shows the location of every single person at Hogwarts at the given time, that means Newt Scamander was somewhere on the grounds at the school during that time. So, even though he wasn’t featured on screen. Newt Scamander was definitely a part of theHarry Potteruniverse before this newFantastic Beasts movie.

It is hard to know whose idea it was to put the little Newt Scamander Easter egg inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, be itJ.K. Rowlingor directorAlfonso Cuaron. Either way, it is definitely a nice little touch, especially now. At the time, Warner Bros. was definitely consulting withJ.K. Rowling, but she had only written the books, not the screenplays for the movies. She actually made her screenwriting debut withFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. At the time it could have literally just been a little throwaway thing, but in hindsight, it seems really cool and raises some fun questions. Most importantly, what was Newt doing atHogwartsin the early 2000s?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themtakes place in New York in 1926 and follows Newt Scamander (played byEddie Redmayne) as he tries to round up a bunch of magical creatures who manage to get loose in the city. So Newt would be an old man in that timeline, but again, it was probably just a fun little Easter egg.Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2is already in the works and is set for release on June 23, 2025, withDavid Yatesreturning once again to the director’s chair. You can check out the little clip of the Marauder’s Map fromHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanfor yourself below.